China: Communist Party Plenum Seeks Answers to 21st Century Challenges
China's economy and technological self-sufficiency are at the center of the debate
The Third Closed Plenum of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China is being held in Beijing from Monday, July 15 to Thursday, July 19, to set political and economic priorities for the Asian giant’s accelerated development over the next four years.
According to a scant publication by China’s official agency Xinhua, the four days of strictly closed-door debate “will determine economic policy for the coming years.” The leaders of the Communist Party of China intend to “continue to improve and develop the socialist system with Chinese specifics and promote the modernization of the state administration system and management capacity,” Xinhua writes, according to which it was also announced that “China will complete the construction of a high-level socialist market economy by 2035.”
The plenum was supposed to be held last autumn, but then there was a delay that was never clarified. According to international analysts, it seems that “more time is needed to find a common line on economic measures.”
The work of the plenum was anticipated by the publication of positive economic data, but is still “insufficiently relevant.” For example, China’s GDP grew 4.7% in the second quarter of 2024, down from 5.3% in the first quarter and below the minimum growth target set by the Communist Party for 2024 at “around 5 percent.” In this context, the stimulus measures are expected above all to revive domestic consumption, which after growing by 3.7% in May recorded a rather meager 2% growth in June.
A special session will focus on the theme of “China’s technological self-sufficiency” to face the sanctions and retaliatory measures imposed by the United States and the European Union on Chinese technology exports. As China’s political leaders have recognized, “the country’s economic growth remains heavily dependent on exports,” as evidenced by their 8.6% growth in June, despite a 2.3% drop in imports.
A few weeks before the Third Plenum, Chinese President Xi Jinping unveiled a new formula that calls for the introduction of “new productive forces.” In essence, the Plenum participants will have to identify “new-generation sources of growth.” It would not be wrong to say that Xi Jinping devotes special attention to innovative microchip technology, artificial intelligence, and the green technology industry. In addition, China’s Communist Party leaders will have to find a way to protect from Western restrictions the electric car and solar panel industries, which underpin the new model of modern and high-tech, high-quality development.
Finally, according to rumors that can be read between the lines of Chinese newspapers, some political appointments are possible. After the expulsion of two former foreign and defense ministers, Qin Gang and Li Shangfu, from the party, the nomination of Liu Jianchao, a key figure in Xi Jinping’s anti-corruption campaign, as foreign minister cannot be ruled out.
